Four people injured in head-on crash on Highway 32

CHICO &GT;&GT; Two adults and two children were injured Wednesday afternoon in a head-on collision between two pickup trucks on Highway 32 east of Chico.

An F-150 with a lone occupant and a Toyota Tacoma with three occupants collided at approximately 12:25 p.m. on the westbound lane of Highway 32, about 10 miles east of Bruce Road, CHP officer George Carpenter said on scene.

Investigators on Wednesday afternoon were still trying to determine what led to the crash, which resulted in the highway being shut down for 1 1/2 hours.

There were no witnesses to the crash and investigators had not been able to speak with the drivers, Carpenter said.

The only information immediately known was that the Tacoma, which was being driven by a woman in her 30s, was westbound and the F-150 driven by a male in his 40s was eastbound, Carpenter said. The trucks collided in the westbound lane and most of the impact was to the right side of both trucks.

Two girls, whose ages weren't available by deadline, were sitting in the back seat of the Tacoma.

The four people involved were taken to the hospital by ambulances and at least one adult and one of the girls suffered major injuries, Carpenter said.

According to CHP, the drivers are residents of Forest Ranch.

Mike and Nancy McGie were headed into Chico and were among the first to come across the crash and call 9-1-1, the Chico couple said. Neither saw the trucks prior to the collision.

Mike McGie said that after seeing the debris scattered and how badly mangled the trucks were, he was relieved to see the victims moving around.

Several people who came across the crash or noticed the black smoke rushed to help the vehicles' occupants prior to the arrival of emergency personnel.

Following the crash, the F-150 bursted into flames.

Rick Wagner, a gasoline tanker driver, was driving toward Chico when he said he noticed vehicles stopped on Highway 32 and smoke rising.

Wagner grabbed his fire extinguisher and walked down to the crash site where he helped temporarily knock down the flames, he told the Enterprise-Record.

Other people tended to the victims, including Chico resident Dao Lao and her husband, and Forest Ranch resident Renee Lerner, a registered nurse.

They helped stabilize and comfort the patients, the women said. They were also able to move the driver of the F-150 out of the truck.

"It was teamwork," Lao said.

Chico Fire Department's Engine 5 was the first on scene and by the time firefighters arrived, the four patients were on the side of the road, said Ethan Rowe, acting captain for the Fire Department. Bystanders had also extinguished flames on the F-150, but about 45 seconds later the fire started up again. Flames engulfed the front of the truck, burning all throughout the truck's cabin, he added.

Chico fire, which was on Bruce Road and Highway 32 at the time of the call, remained at the scene to help with extensive clean-up.

Oil, gasoline and other fluids spilled onto the road and were flowing down the highway.